Structure and Functioning of the State
Riigikogu
101 members elected for four years by proportional representation on the first Sunday of March, with a 5% national threshold and internet voting available. It legislates, adopts the budget, ratifies treaties, questions ministers, elects the President, appoints the Chancellor of Justice, the Auditor General and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and may pass a motion of no confidence in the Government or in a single minister.
President
Elected for five years, at most two consecutive terms. The Riigikogu votes first and needs a two-thirds majority (68 votes); after three unsuccessful rounds the electoral college - Riigikogu members plus representatives of local councils - tries; if it also fails, the election returns to the Riigikogu. The President promulgates or returns laws, nominates the Prime Minister, formally appoints ministers, accredits ambassadors and is commander-in-chief.
Government and courts
The President nominates a Prime Minister after coalition talks; the Riigikogu authorises the nominee, who then forms the Government. County, administrative and circuit courts hear first and appeal instances; the Supreme Court in Tartu (19 judges, Chief Justice appointed for nine years) is the court of cassation and the constitutional review court. Local government is two-tier: an elected volikogu and an executive formed by it, headed by a linnapea or vallavanem.
Worked example
The President refuses to promulgate a tax law. Procedure: the law goes back to the Riigikogu; if it is re-adopted unchanged, the President must refer it to the Supreme Court; if the Court finds it constitutional, the President must promulgate it. Reasoning: the President holds a suspensive power only, not an absolute veto.
Traps
Writing 101 as 100. Believing citizens elect the President directly. Saying the President appoints the Prime Minister - he nominates and the Riigikogu authorises. Confusing the Supreme Court's location or treating it as only a constitutional court. Mixing up the Chancellor of Justice with the Auditor General, or ignoring the 5% threshold.